Arkomir writes...
Awaking in the morning we head down to the tap room for breakfast. We decide to head into the Crown this morning, stopping in at the guardhouse to see Figgis if possible. Katya is here as well and we sit with her and tell her of our plans for today. She will try to arrange a mount and prepare for our departure tomorrow. We head through Myriad Plaza and the bookshop to start saying our goodbyes. The plaza is a little more busy today. Katlyn & Vermillion are here today, sitting by the fountain. Dharra heads to the bookshop and I quickly head over to the fountain. I invite the companion folk along to
The Lively Grotto tonight for a goodbye. Katlyn will pass on invitation to the rest and will try and be there. I then head over to the bookshop. As I head in Dharra is speaking with Verithrax and Jenny. After making sure they will be coming along tonight we head up to the Crown.
We stop by the guardhouse to see if I can arrange to see Figgis. He heads off to see what he can do and asks us to hold here for a moment. After a short wait we are ushered in to see Captain Figgis noting that this could be a tense encounter and she is in a bit of a mood. We let her know of our intentions to leave tomorrow and also invite her along to the Lively Grotto tonight for drink. Dharra heads out and Figgis and I have a quick private discussion. I again apologise to her for my part in the battle of Myriad Plaza and reiterate that we hope we will see her later. We leave the guardhouse and head to the palace gate to drop off the sending stone for Funi. We ask one of the guards to deliver it to her for us.
We make our way from there to the Academy and into the library. There is a high dark stone wall around the academy. We head over to what appears to be a reception area. This place is impressive and imposing in equal measure. Behind a gate there is a large statue, and buildings that are all primarily towers. The statue (fountain) contains busts of various figures, and a statue of two figures, both eleven. The one in front is holding a book, the one behind holds a staff with a hand on the other. The one at the back is potentially
Glade, the one in front is not known to us. At the base of the statue are a section of symbols, with the ones we can see saying
Corellon and
Ioun. There are a bunch of students (carrying books) wandering around inside. As we enter the reception area, two young humans greet us. The young woman behind the desk was also working security at the ball. We ask if Funi has sent the invitation to the library and they will introduce us to someone who can help with that. She ushers us through a door and into a small hallway beyond. We are ushered into an office to see
Pozohr The Flame.
He asks us what we might be looking for in the library. We ask about the statue and he verifies that it is a statue of
Glade and Trevian, the founders of the
Academy of Arcane Arts and Letters. Trevian was Glade's first apprentice (starting 2720) and they founded the academy in 3100. They had been together for some time at that point. Glade is not buried here, but in Glade's Folly (in 3178). We ask about
Darin's Fall as well which was founded after Glade's Folly, by a descendant of
Brak. We ask about Steinwark and Pozohr tells us he has spent time in Steinwark and beyond. The city lies against the Great Wall. I ask about an amassing power beyond the wall and he did not hear or see anything on his travels there. If a power was amassing it may be in Zephyros, or possibly Heavenspears or the annointed pillars or Stone Towers. We then talk about
Aldrich and the sigil stuff and I mention the voices and how they spoke to
Aldrich and to me. He seems very intrigued by this. Dharra mentions that the first time
Aldrich heard it was under a green moon and he is very interested in that. He talks about the green moon and its effect on the worlds.
I mention that what Dharra and I are seeing feels granular and there is a bigger picture we cannot see. He feels that I have been in contact with an inter-dimensional being that made an offer, which I managed to resist. We talk about the two sigils we have seen and how they may link to all of this. To him it sounds like
Aldrich and the
Hobgoblin agreed to a bargain made under a green moon that ended up driving them mad. As such, they kept trying to perpetuate the symbol everywhere. He is certainly convinced that the two sigils are linked. We will pass any information we find back to Funi. We talk about the pool on
Verdant Isle and the false god and he is not sure what that might be. We ask about how we might protect ourselves from it and he will think on that. We mention
Kezahr and he knows her from the academy.
He asks us to do the following; Dharra must carry the sending stone, I must not make any agreements in my dreams and if my actions change, Dharra must let him know ASAP, via sending stone. We ask if we can have a closer look at the statue and at least see the library. He will also arrange for some information regarding
Glade by morning.
At the statue we see that Glade and Trevian appear to be depicted quite a bit older. The third name on the back of the statue is
Erathis. There are some depictions of Glade's life around one of the plinths. Tarik (our guide) also shows us the library. We enter into one of the towers and are shown the library proper and it is awe-inspiring place, circular and across three levels. There are reading tables and more books than Arkomir even knew existed. There is a network of staircases that wind their way up the three levels across the mezzanines. After breathing all that in we are escorted back out to the front of the academy. On our way out we thank Pozohr for today and allowing us to see the statue and the library.
Before heading back to the Grotto, we pop in and see Thicoul. Dharra is effusive in thanking him for the opportunity she was given at the ball. She also hopes to see him again and some more of the mountains. Thicoul will extend and invitation for us and bids us welcome. We ask about Steinwark and he says the wall is well worth seeing, and the town is quite something as well. He and Dharra have a discussion about dragons and the Earthspine. We head back to
The Lively Grotto to start preparations for leaving and tonight.
A Final Night at The Lively Grotto
Back at the Lively Grotto, Fastolm is here as well as Fenor. We start organising the tab for our stay with Fastolm and we pay a bit extra so that there is a bar tab for our friends. Dharra organises to play tonight as well. We head to our room to get our gear ready. In doing so, we remember that we took a war chief's battleaxe some time ago. We have a look at this and it is quite heavy and curved in design. It is adourned with a number of trinkets that have been attached to the haft and a slightly magical weapon. I take the weapon and it is quite useable and balanced, but quite heavy. We may be able to sell this, perhaps to Sam and Celaknurt. We spend the rest of the afternoon, reorganising gear and generally preparing for travel tomorrow. Whilst we are doing that I hear the door to the room next to us open and close. I go and investigate. I knock on the door and Katya is here. I invite her down for dinner before the evening starts.
We settle in downstairs for the night. Verithrax and Jenny are here already and sit with us. We talk of our journey to come and where we are headed. Verithrax tells us of a place called Havensbridge between here and Etthis. It is about a days ride from here and the inn is called Halfway Haven. The innkeep is Willem and he should look after us. Katya comes and sits with us as well. We organise drinks and food for the table. We get some intel on Steinwark but more just general layout and feel of the city proper. There is an emphasis on the wall and that is why the city has built up around it.
I keep checking the door to see if any of the companions or Figgis turn up. As I do, I notice Kaelin Snow enter the tavern. She has some items for us. The first is a dark wooden box about a foot long with a brass inlay on the top and the bottom for Kezahr. She also has a scroll case for us containg some biographical information about Glade. After some food, Dharra heads up to play. She plays an entertaining set of mostly drinking songs and hits her stride with these pretty quickly and people are getting into it. A couple of dwarves from Thicoul's entourage turn up during her set. Amdrom and Jenny get up and dance, and I convince Katya to get up as well. After that we sit back down and catch our breath whilst Dharra takes a break.
Dharra goes and speaks to the dwarves and they hand her an envelope sealed with dark red wax. It is an introduction to EarthSpine. Dharra gets up and does another set and Amdrom & Jenny get up and dance again. During the second set,
Corelle and Katlyn come into the tavern and they head over to the table after seeing Fastolm first. We chat about
Trielle and what their legacy might be. Corelle and I have a deep chat about all manner of things and our place in the world. The night winds down naturally after Dharra's last set. We say goodbye to Amdrom, Verithrax, Zhelki, & Jenni. We say goodbye to Fastolm as well. We head upstairs for a long rest.
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